The Walking Dead, vol. 1

Writer(s): Robert Kirkman
Artist(s): Tony Moore and Charlie Adlard
Publisher: Image Comics
ISBN: 978-1582406190
Price: $29.99
Page count: 304
Year Released: 2006
Status: in print
Original Source: The Walking Dead 1-12
Other Collected Edition(s): The Walking Dead, vol. 1: Days Gone Bye and The Walking Dead, vol. 2: Miles Behind Us
Genres: horror; romance/relationships; suspense/thriller
Recommended for Fans Of: zombies!!!
Possibly Objectionable Material: violence; gore; coarse language
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Also in This Series: followed by The Walking Dead, vol. 2

Plot Summary
Kentucky police officer Rick Grimes wakes from a coma to discover that the end of the world arrived while he was away. Zombies are roaming the earth, and Rick barely escapes from the overrun hospital with his life. At home, his wife and son are nowhere to be found, but with the help of Morgan Jones and his son (two survivors who moved into Rick's next-door-neighbor's house), Rick decides to arm himself, commandeer a squad car, and drive down to Atlanta where his in-laws live, since this is where his wife and son probably went when the trouble started. According to Morgan, the government advised everyone to gather in the cities, since this is where the army could more easily protect everyone until the zombie pandemic is brought under control.

But when he finally makes it to Atlanta, Rick finds that the cities are in even worse shape than the small towns. Zombies are everywhere in the streets, and no human beings appear to remain. The government, it appears, has had no luck whatsoever in containing the zombie menace. In fact, it seems likely that the government has disappeared entirely....

My Own 2 Cents
The Walking Dead is the greatest continuing comic book series currently running. It's also the greatest zombie story I've ever read/seen/heard/whatever. And this is from a guy who loves Romero's Living Dead movies, 28 Days Later, Shaun of the Dead, the Resident Evil video games--you name it. Zombies are awesome.

Kirkman's created The Walking Dead for two reasons: (1) he also loves zombie movies, and (2) he hates it when they end. So the tagline to The Walking Dead illuminates the genius behind Kirkman's idea. The Walking Dead is "a continuing story of survival horror."

Of course, most zombie movies don't rely too much on character development. With only two hours to tell the story, it's all about the zombies. But The Walking Dead has time on its side, which means that character development, by necessity, takes the lead and actually drives the series forward. This story isn't about zombies, it's about the people who have survived.

I haven't read a book so quickly in a long time. I literally couldn't stop turning pages because I couldn't wait to see what happened next. The Walking Dead is utterly compelling, and the best zombie book ever made. Period.